{"id":1158,"date":"2025-03-24T15:38:05","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T15:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/?p=1158"},"modified":"2025-03-24T16:47:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T16:47:51","slug":"heres-how-i-stopped-ghosting-my-friends-and-used-social-media-to-revive-lost-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/heres-how-i-stopped-ghosting-my-friends-and-used-social-media-to-revive-lost-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s how I stopped ghosting my friends and used social media to revive lost relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Molly W tried reconnecting with friends after weeks, months and even years of radio silence, using Snapchat to socialise not stalk
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After noticing I\u2019d lost touch with friends, I decided to DITCH the passive scrolling. Even when we socialise online, we do so superficially and without real look-me-in-the-eyes<\/a> communication. Some research<\/a> suggests that using social media to maintain connections actually leads towards more feelings of loneliness \u2013 perhaps virtual connections are not a good enough substitute for in-person communication and disappoint users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I decided to use social media for its intended purpose and tried reconnecting with three people in my life who I haven’t spoken to recently. I wanted to find out: is it possible to use our phones to combat loneliness instead of escalating it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media has gone from real connections to fleeting trends and presenting the best versions of ourselves. Around 73% of gen z report feeling alone either sometimes or all the time, according to Psychology Today. Its study also suggested that passive scrolling on our phones can exacerbate loneliness by amplifying feelings of isolation and inadequacy. The takeaway? It’s not enough to limit how much time you spend on social media, you must also be able to use it mindfully.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I decided to reach out to three people I knew I had on Snapchat to see if we could rekindle our friendships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. \u2018E\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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